In A Storm
by PaperRebellion
Summary: A small kind of Rocketshipping oneshot centered around a popular headcanon that one of the Rockets (Jessie is most popular) is afraid of storms. I got bored and ran with that on New Years Eve way back in 2017 and decided to save it from the scrap pile. I guess it's kinda hurt/comfort?


**A/N: This is a pretty much discarded chapter that was originally going to be in my first Rocketshipping story. But as most of my friends know I took out several story arcs from that once I started "The Villains Are More Interesting". This has been sitting around since December 2017 and I finally decided to redo it and edit it. So yeah, it's based off the cute headcanon my friends and I have that Jessie's afraid of storms. :)**

James was lying on the couch in darkness, watching rain fall through the cloudy night sky through the window across the room. He glanced over at the blank television; Despite it being just about time to watch the ball drop, it was off due to the power outage that accompanied the wonderful storm.  
Unlike his partner, he had no problem with storms. If anything, he liked them. He knew, of course, growing up in the middle of Kanto meant he was deprived of rain unless it was the middle of summer, and even then he wasn't allowed to go outside. A pity, but at least he could listen to it. That was his favorite part, even compared to how he liked the detail in the clouds.  
A small beep sounded in the corner, and he glanced at the clock. Five minutes until midnight. He and Jessie had planned to stay up and watch the ball drop (the reason they'd set an alarm) but with the storm knocking the power, she just went to bed.  
She did not share his enthusiasm for storms. She liked snow, but not rain. She was "reproachful" as she put it, and not "terrified of storms" as James thought.  
Mild ones, she dealt with. But these large ones, with pats of rainfall, cracks of lighting and booms of thunder? It was probably wise of her to sleep through this.  
He sighed, and relaxed. He was probably going to fall asleep out here in the living room, but his room's window wasn't large enough to see all the lighting or rain.  
All sense of peace he possessed was shattered when he heard footsteps behind the sofa he laid on, followed by a blaringly loud reverberation of thunder and a small yelp to accompany it.  
He sat bolt upright. The fact that Jessie nearly jumped out of her skin told him she probably hadn't realized he was out here.  
"James." she said, relaxing. "I thought you were asleep." Yep.  
"Yeah, sorry." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I didn't mean to scare you."  
"It's fine." There was something off about her voice. She sounded... strained.  
"You alright?" he asked.  
"Why wouldn't I be?" she replied.  
James had known her too long to recognize when she did this. "That doesn't answer my question."  
"I heard the alarm and decided to come out here and see if anybody around was still doing fireworks." she ignored him and began walking to the fridge. She grabbed the milk and set it down on the counter. "Apparently, this storm really ruined-"  
The loudest snap from the sky was so unbearably loud it seemed to shake the pair. James realized a moment after that Jessie was the only one shaking.  
She took a breath and grabbed the chocolate syrup, taking longer for trying to fight the little tremors.  
He got up and walked over to her slowly. "Are you sure you're okay with your, uh... reproachfulness of storms?"  
"I'm fine." The strain was back.  
He considered. Jessie didn't like it one bit when he outright tried to comfort her, unless she had no choice. But that didn't mean he couldn't do it at all.  
"Why don't you sit down, and I'll make us both glasses?" he smiled warmly.  
She seemed to contemplate his offer a moment before smiling back and sitting down on the sofa, "Thanks."  
"Anytime." He handed her a glass.  
He could barely make out her silhouette in the darkness, but he could see enough of her to see she was frightened.  
After a while of being forced to watch his friend suffer quietly, James spoke up. "Jessie?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Why aren't you asleep?"  
He didn't need to see her to know how she'd bristled. "I told you, I heard the alar-"  
"It's too quiet to have woken you behind a closed door."  
She huffed, "Why do you care?"  
"Because this happens every time there's a storm." he said simply.  
"I-" she trailed off, then sighed, "I hate storms. Always have. They're loud. That's it. "  
"Jess, there's more to it than that. " He grimaced.  
"They're weird and I just..." She trailed off, hearing a low rumbling of thunder, " I don't like them, so leave me alone. " she said finally, whipping her head so she wouldn't have to look at him.  
He groaned, "This is unnecessary."  
"So is you grilling me." Jessie snapped.  
"You don't have to be so snippy." James sighed.

"You don't have to grill me." Jessie muttered.

They were silent for a few moments, drinking while looking at anything but each other. But the thunder kept rolling and Jessie kept cringing as reserved as possible. Another few moments went by of them sitting in silence, both of them quietly finishing their drinks. James contemplated what to say as the thunder rolled.

"Jess?"

She looked at him, "What?" she asked flatly.

"If you just _tell_ me you're freaked out by storms, you know I won't judge you." James said.

Jessie sighed dramatically, "James, I'm _not_-" she conceded, "Okay, fine so maybe they're a little scary but I'm not _afraid_ of them." She crossed her arms to keep her hands from shaking.

James smiled a little, "Thank you for telling at least part of the truth." He stood up and took their now empty glasses to the sink. He sat back down next to her.

Jessie sighed, "You're really annoying, you know." She said, putting her head on his shoulder.

James grinned, "I know." He said, wrapping an arm around her, "And you're really stubborn."

She smirked, "I know."


End file.
